Whispering Willie Jackson
The line between raider and mercenary can often be a thin one, and Willie Jackson straddles it very closely. While obstinately an independent mercenary, Whispering Willie as he is known often acts more akin to a common bandit then anything else. History Willie Jackson was born in a hovel in the Detroit Wastelands. A big child at birth, he only became more so as he grew. Towering over the other children in the settlement, he quickly learned to use his strength and size to get his own way, intimidating and bullying others for their caps or possessions. Figuring that nobody was going to look out for him, he felt that he would do it himself and take whatever he wanted. By the time he was an adult, he was the terror of his community. It was a passing mercenary group that provided Willie with true direction. In conversation with them, he latched onto the idea that people would pay him to fight and kill other people and take their stuff. It was a job that gave him all that he wanted; an outlet for violence that he could gain materially from. Leaving home (much to the relief of its people), he made his way to Park Lane in order to latch on to the Mercenary trade. While still an amateur in the trade, it was not hard for Willie to find work. He quickly learned that there was a layer of scummy jobs that many would refuse to touch, but also suited him just fine. Jobs like intimidation, driving settlers off claims, looting of supplies or technology and the like became his bread and butter, and he found that there was no shortage of supply. Willie asked no questions and made no demands of his employers, only that they pay him well. Within a short period, he’d built a reputation as the man to go to for dirty jobs. Not everyone was happy with this state of affairs, however. Willie found himself blacklisted by most mercenary outfits who refused to have any dealings with him at all. The Black Skull Company proved to be especially hostile towards him, seeing him as being the antithesis of the standards that they represented. Willie took all of this in stride, pointing out that he was still making caps and that it wasn’t like anyone was actively stopping him from doing so. The Revolutionary War proved to be an especially busy time for him. Many used the chaos of the conflict as an opportunity to settle scores or take advantage of others, which saw him get a lot of work. Along the way, Willie crossed paths with the Army of Revolution on several occasions, finding that they were openly hostile to him. He didn’t mind this, as it gave him an opportunity to kill some people and loot their bodies. He stated that he'd have gladly worked with them if they had made him an offer, but only as a contractor rather than being conscripted into their ranks. In the post-war environment, Whispering Willie began to find himself leaning more towards the Army of Revolution. After their military defeat, the militant force were looking to expand their reach through less conventional means, and Whispering Willie was more then happy to help them do such if the caps were right. For several years he carried on subtle missions of espionage, assassination, sabotage and other dirty deeds with little concern over the hows and whys of his actions. And while he was rarely hired by the Army directly, rather instead going through intermediaries, he knew who he was working for no less. Their biggest assignment for him came in March of 2287 when he was hired to plant a “package” that, to his eyes, was obviously a bomb, in the Park Lane council chambers. Willie had no problems with this at all (He considered the council to all be tossers) and gladly did such, not caring in the slightest how many people got blown up in the process. Given the pile of caps he received afterwards, the Army were happy with what had happened, enough to make it clear that he could expect more work from them soon. Personality “Whispering” Willie Jackson is scum, and he knows it. Loud, bragging and cocky, he has a complete lack of disrespect for anything, be it laws, rights, the comfort of others or basic hygiene. He is a self-admitted thief and bully, and enjoys bragging about the horrible things that he’s done for a job. However, he’s also professional enough to never name his employer or otherwise identify them, knowing full well that doing such would cost him future revenue. Likewise, he’s careful not to let his business drag into a major settlement where he could be caught and barred (or worse). He enjoys taunting others or goading them into fights, and will often just look for an excuse for violence. His likes include drink, chems, caps and shooting things, although he also has been careful to avoid overuse or addiction. He has no scruples about who he goes after, as long as he’s been paid to do it. On one occasion, he wound up working for both sides of a feud and raked in the caps for it. If he were alive today, he’d probably vocally defend gamer culture. He’s that sort of a guy. He prides himself of being utterly neutral in the affairs of the Detroit Wasteland, holding no loyalty or affection to any one settlement, gang, group or philosophy. The only thing that he is loyal to is the allmighty Bottlecap, and would gladly work for anyone who was willing to pay him. Appearance A towering brute of a man, Willie stands out in a crowd and he knows it. Powerfully built, his figure is dominated by powerful, rippling, glistening, muscles. Never an attractive man, his face features small brown eyes, lots of stubble and a usually a leering grin. His hair is styled into a mohawk, and usually dyed some garish color. Whatever he wears will almost always be made of leather, cut to reveal as much of his chest as possible and be filthy. Equipment Over the years, Whispering Willie has looted a vast arsenal of weapons off the dead bodies of those that he was sent after. He’s sold most of it in order to support his various habits but has kept a few pieces because they were particularly effective or just because he liked them. While his actual load-out will vary, his favorite weapon (which he always carries) is a customised Ripper. He likes the weapon not just for its utility, but also for its ability to intimidate and inflict pain. When he's not chainsawing thing, Whispering Willie likes automatic rifles or shotguns as his main ways to kill people dead. He's also fond of setting things on fire, but respects that flamethrowers are not functional, all-purpose, day to day weapons. His other pride and joy is a pre-war motorised trike that he found in his travels. The vehicle is completely inoperable, and likely corroded beyond repair. But a man can dream. Quotes By About Category:Characters Category:Mercenaries Category:Michigan